Importance of Mangroves

Shoreline Protection

Mangroves protect shorelines from damaging storm and hurricane winds, waves, and floods. Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems. They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land.

Renewable Resource

Mangroves are utilized in many parts of the world as a renewable resource

In other parts of the world, people have utilized mangrove trees as a renewable resource. Harvested for durable, water-resistant wood, mangroves have been used in building houses, boats, pilings, and furniture. The wood of the black mangrove and buttonwood trees has also been utilized in the production of charcoal. Tannins and other dyes are extracted from mangrove bark. Leaves have been used in tea, medicine, livestock feed, and as a substitute for tobacco for smoking. In Florida, beekeepers have set up their hives close to mangroves in order to use the nectar in honey production.

Glossary terms on page:

erosion: the wearing away of soil, rock, and sediments, etc. by the action of wind, rain, and other weather-related elements.

endangered species: a species in danger of becoming extinct that is protected by the Endangered Species Act.

threatened species: plants or animals likely to become endangered in the near future.